Study finds social media expands social networks

The Pew Internet & American Life Project recently released the findings of its study, "Social Isolation and New Technology," which found that people's use of mobile phones and the Internet actually increases their social networks.These findings go against popular opinion and mainstream media, which has always been critical of technology and social media, said Adam Tyma, a UNO assistant professor who specializes in computer-mediated communication.

"The media needs to report on something," Tyma said. "If everyone is using it, and there is an isolated problem, then that problem becomes normalized across all users. Are there problems? Sure. Do we really know what works, what does not work and the plethora of uses and abuses that may exist?"

The Pew Project's findings challenge the results of a 2006 study by American sociologists who argued technology is continuing a trend seen since 1985. The study found that the size of the social networks of the average American seems to be shrinking, as well as the diversity of contacts.

Wendy Townley, assistant director of media relations for UNO, relies heavily on social media for her job and takes a practical view of the technology.

"I could certainly do media relations on a daily basis without it... but in terms of talking to students and interacting with other people on campus, it's a really effective tool that is just wonderful," she said.

Working in media relations, Townley must remain near the cutting edge of social media to reach as many students, current and prospective, as possible. Every day, she uses Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to promote the university and has amassed a sizeable personal network in the process.

"I would feel really comfortable e-mailing any one of these people if I needed something," Townley said. "Would I ever feel comfortable approaching all 1,100 of these people and inviting them to my birthday party? Absolutely not."

Katie Langenfeld, a UNO senior who has studied computer-mediated communication, said she believes the technology's pros far outweigh its cons, but also believes that knowing when to "unplug" is important.

"I use social media every day for just about anything," she said. "I connect with family and friends through social networks, and I keep in contact with co-workers and clients during business hours."

Although the findings of the Pew study seem to validate supporters of social media, Tyma questions the accuracy of such studies and urges students to use their own sense in determining how much they rely on social media to expand and maintain their networks.

"Honestly, I think it is too early to tell," Tyma said. "We have only just started really figuring out the full effect of these things called online social communities, social media, etc. From a communication perspective, I think we are going to need to re-evaluate our methods for social media users. It seems as though the various communication channels happen simultaneously, resulting in different types of communication happening at the same time, all of them influencing the other."

That level of complexity makes it difficult to isolate individual variables, Tyma said, and until a method can be perfected which takes that complexity into account, the true effects of social media will remain difficult to gauge.